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ruling passion that could be articulated like this:“ I will get others to love and admire me no matter what, even if it means exaggerating, lying, and deceiving others.” This led him to sin against the Lord and others. As a result, John’ s multimillion-dollar ministries imploded, he lost his friends and his marriage, and he ended up serving time in prison for fraud. Being able to get insight into the genesis of his ruling passions helped him to develop more awareness of what drove his behaviors and their impact and to ultimately engage in significant repentance. ministry leaders exercise, see Peter Scazzero, The Emotionally Healthy Leader: How Transforming Your Inner Life Will Deeply Transform Your Church, Team, and the World( Zondervan, 2015), 239 – 68. 3. Langberg, Redeeming Power, 35, quoting Howard Thurman, Jesus and the Disinherited( Beacon, 1976), 55.
Excerpted from The Spiritually Healthy Leader: Finding Freedom from Self-Sabotage © 2025 by Dave Wiedis. Used with permission of New Growth Press. May not be reproduced without prior written permission.
At a minimum, ruling passions can impede our relationships with God, family, friends, and ministry. At worst, they have the potential to take our lives. To avoid such consequences, we need to realize that we are all in desperate need of the transforming work of God in our lives and open our hearts to the ongoing sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit.
1. Diane M. Langberg, Redeeming Power Understanding Authority and Abuse in the Church( Brazos Press, 2020), 127.
2. For an excellent discussion on the different types of power
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Dave Wiedis, J. D., M. S. C. C, is the Founder and Executive Director of ServingLeaders Ministries, as well as a counselor and attorney. He is also the Director of Counseling at Providence Church, West Chester, PA, and has served as an adjunct professor in the graduate counseling department at Cairn University for over two decades. Dave is the author of The Spiritually Healthy Leader: Finding Freedom from Self- Sabotage. He is married to Miho Kahn, a performing and visual artist. Dave and Miho have two adult children and live in West Chester, PA. 30